Comprehensive eSports Betting Guide

eSports Betting Guide

❓What are eSports?
🔍eSports Betting Basics
📊eSports vs regular sports betting
💡Tips for Successful Betting on eSports

eSports: what are they? Who’s playing these games and how are people betting on them? Maybe you have already encountered this relatively new term somewhere; maybe you’re gamer, but not competitive. Perhaps you’ve seen mentions of eSports but don’t know quite how they work? Welcome to this explainer, where we’ll cover the basics of this new frontier in gaming and sports betting.

What are eSports?

The name is just a shortened version of “electronic sports.” Put in its simplest terms, eSports is based around formalized competitions in video games, though it doesn’t necessarily even need to be a “sports” game. For the time being, a broad range of game genres are all included under the umbrella of eSports, including first person shooters like CounterStrike and action-strategy games like League of Legends. But also, it’s worth noting that eSports seem to be here to stay, as some of the most well-known sports leagues in the world have their own eSports teams, including FIFA and the NBA. Most of the major sportsbooks like DraftKings are adding, or already have added eSports betting to their offerings.

The most popular esports overall are Dota 2, CounterStrike, League of Legends, Fortnite, Valorant and FIFA.

Who’s Playing and Who’s Watching?

eSports are known to generally feature some of the most skilled video game players worldwide, competing in tournaments of all varieties. These competitions generally don’t require a physical presence, due to their being electronic in nature. In the same way, fans can tune in and easily watch live streams from anywhere (all you need is a stable internet connection!). These two key factors have enabled a huge boom in popularity for a whole new realm of sporting action. Casual gamers and professional players alike are enjoying the action and the ease of access has rapidly made eSports into a multi-billion dollar industry in almost no time.

The worldwide eSports audience in 2022 amounted to 523 million people – and by 2025, there are expected to be over 640 million viewers around the world.

Some of the most successful eSports players can earn large salaries, just like players in traditional sports. Tournaments, too, are seeing ever increasing winning prizes—for example, FIFAe’s 2023 tournament had a total $3M prize pool, making this a very lucrative new realm for a talented few!

eSports Betting Basics

This rapid rise in popularity has naturally led to the birth of eSports betting. As is exactly the case with traditional sports betting, fans can now place bets on their favorite eSports teams, players, or outcomes within a game. Here is a list of some of the most common eSports bets you can find and wager on:

Winner of a Match – plainly enough, who you think (player or team) will win a given faceoff
Total Number of Rounds to occur in a Match (or say, the number of maps that will be played, for non-sports specific gaming like CounterStrike)
Prop Bets – just like in regular sports betting, you can bet on who might score first, total number of scores a certain player might get, or bets on any number of other in-game occurrences
Live Bets can also be placed while the match is happening.

The above are typically presented on the major sportsbooks’ website as fixed odds bets.

Just like in regular sports betting, the most important factor in eSports betting is to be well informed on the game, players, and stakes. The more you know in advance, the better your odds of successful bets!

Good to Know

Additionally, there are other types of in-game “bets” less common (or non-existent) in traditional sports, such as “skins” gambling or “loot” boxes, which more-or-less revolve around the value of found objects. Some of these items go on to be traded for thousands of dollars! We’ll explain this aspect of eSports more in a follow up article.

Differences between eSports Betting and Traditional Sports Betting

eSports, being a relatively new industry, has less historical data to pull from to help both sportsbooks and bettors analyze bets. This can present a higher barrier to entry to those who possess casual knowledge of the online game/tournament at hand.

Without significant personal experience, bettors will have to inform themselves with data from a given team’s recent performances. Real time analysis of ongoing matches can be one of the best to learn for those who do have experience.

Other notable differences also include:

Number of Matches Played

eSports facilitates a much greater volume of matches, removing the need to gather players, facilitate travel, and bring people together physically in large arenas. Thus, eSports players often participate in a far greater number of matches in a given week, as compared to traditional sports.

Lack of Regulation

In most eSports, there tend not to be well-established guidebooks or governing bodies that regulate the gameplay. This can result in unforeseen rule changes, or a game patch/update being released that can directly affect the mechanisms of game play.

Mental vs Physical

eSports evidently exists more in the realm of mental, rather than physical, conditioning. Players train for hours and days, playing exhibition matches outside of the tournaments. But just like any type of training, this can take a toll on the players themselves, but in less foreseeable ways (physical ailments are more obvious and take the player out of the running).

Risks Associated with eSports Betting

As outlined above, eSports can be much more volatile—among other ways, upsets are also more common. Players can routinely change teams at the drop of a hat, and when this occurs, it can shift the odds substantially on who the underdog or favorite might be for any given match.

In addition to this, regular risks of internet-based activities include:

Compulsivity/Addiction – it’s harder to quantify losses in a purely digital realm, betting on sports that themselves aren’t occurring in real life, the same way you’re much less likely to notice $100 in credit/debit purchases versus if you spent $100 in cash
Physical Isolation from Others – unlike a live traditional sports match that you might go watch with your friends, eSports doesn’t particularly facilitate shared experiences in the physical world
Scams/Fraudulent activity – always protect your personal information and don’t sign up for any site without fully verifying it in advance. If in doubt, only wager with the established sportsbooks

Tips for Successful Betting on eSports

Many of the same general rules apply to betting on eSports, as they do with traditional sports betting. It’s always good to review these since they are always pertinent, no matter the final application.

Do Your Research: Stay up to date with the latest news, what to expect in upcoming tournaments, stats for different teams and players, etc.
Watch Plenty of Matches before Betting: The more you watch in advance, the better you'll understand the intricacies of the various gaming competitions, as well as how players and teams tend to function, their strengths and weaknesses.
Networking: Find other eSports fans and bettors to share insights and strategies. This could take the form of online forums, but increasingly there are eSports venues popping up in more and more places across the country. Connections with like-minded individuals always helps!
Start Small: Especially if you’re new to eSports betting, learn the ropes first, starting with smaller bets, but without risking significant losses. As you gain confidence, you can up your bets.

Conclusion

As is the case with all sports betting, it’s important to know your own limits and manage your bankroll. Betting on eSports can be mostly a fun pastime, or it can net you some decent profits if approached with caution and a keen knowledge of the stakes and relevant information to the matches. Always bet responsibly and stay within your means. Currently, the top US sportsbooks don't offer eSports betting bonuses but we might see that change as eSports continues to grow in popularity.

On that note, eSports are almost certainly going to continue growing in popularity, therefore, if you find yourself so inclined, it might be worth learning more about this newest frontier in sports betting!

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